1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to identification cards, and more particularly to methods for forming plastic cards printable in a laser printing process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Previous methods for making identification cards include embossed plastic cards and plain paper cards. Embossed cards are relatively expensive to make. Plain paper cards are inexpensive, however, they are not long lasting and do not convey a polished image.
Plastic cards have been produced in which an impact printer is used to mark a sheet of die-cut plastic or plastic-coated paper and some plastics. Such printers have relatively poor quality and are unable to form quality bar codes on such cards on the same sheet.
Laser printers are able to form high quality text and graphics on paper and some plastics. However, due to their construction, laser printers are finicky and are unable to handle varying thicknesses of paper on the same sheet.
Many companies wish to send identification cards to customers along with a cover letter. Previous attempts to use laser printers have failed to produce acceptable pages bearing plastic die-cut identification cards.